NYC Pre-Christmas Gun Map Sparks Controversy

Maps published on the Sunday before Christmas was titled "Where are the gun permits in your neighborhood?" The Journal News, a New York newspaper published a Google map locating and providing names and addresses of pistol or revolver permits in Westchester and Rockland counties. The data came from the paper's Freedom of Interformation Act requests, some of which were denied as described in the companion article. The data does not include owners of rifles and shotguns, which can be purchased in without a permit in the state.

Gun owners felt their privacy was invaded but the paper defending the action to ABC News, stating readers "are understandably interested to know about guns in their neighborhoods."

Several big city papers have published similar data and maps in the past, often redacting some or all of it after reader response.